Early recognition and response to clinical deterioration: the COMPASS[c] journey.

• Jurisdiction: Australia
• Author: McKay, Heather
• Date: 01 February 2012

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The topic of recognising and responding to clinical deterioration in the acute health care setting has gained momentum in Australia in the past couple of years.

This is partly due to the work of the Australian Commission on Quality and Safety in Health Care and development of a consensus statement and national safety and quality health service standards.

In 2007 the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) developed a program for the early recognition of the deteriorating patient, which included the use of a track and trigger system using modified early warning scores (MEWS), a colour coded observation chart and an associated education program COMPASS[c].

The COMPASS[c] education program was designed to be flexible, adaptable and require only two to three hours of face to face time. It consists of pre-learning with an interactive CD, a 100 page reference manual, an online quiz and a face to face...